Small steps, big impact – 3D bioprinting kidneys at Harvard

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Though it takes just an instant for research to become a discovery, an apple falling from a tree; a bolt of lighting; the snap of a shutter, fully developed breakthroughs in science and medicine take years to perfect, and what we read today, about Harvard material scientists’ developments in the bioprinting of a kidney structure, is one small step closer to a future where organ transplant lists are a thing of the past.

The process follows the same ‘sorting-out’ concept of cell manipulation that has been used in bio-printing a miniature heart and kidneys. The process of sorting-out means that cells given a particular form eventually retain the order of the synthetic structure around them, and operate as they would in this structure within the body.

Jennifer Lewis is the lead researcher on the project. As a professor at Harvard University, and core faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Lewis is one of the leading names in 3D bio-printing research, and has over 120 journal articles attributed to her name. Her team at Harvard also succeeded in printing thick tissues containing blood vessels earlier this year, this research served as a basis for this most recent advance.

The team’s next step is to arrange the PTs into a vascular structure, gradually building up tissue until it is suitable to be transplanted. As the researchers write in the paper,

Beau Jackson is Senior Journalist at 3D Printing Industry. With a longstanding commitment to the site's content, she is credited with producing more articles than any other author in its history. Well-versed in the latest 3D printing research and legal/regulatory challenges, her repertoire spans aerospace, automotive, maritime, medical and creative industries. She is a keen speaker and active representative of the company at key additive manufacturing events.